Prosecutors want up to 10 years in prison for Leopoldo López

The Venezuelan opposition leader was charged with the crimes of arson and damages, solicitation to crime and conspiracy. The latter is the most serious one and it is designated in the Organic Law against Organized Crime and Funding of Terrorism, punished by imprisonment for 10 years

The leader of opposition Voluntad Popular party, Leopoldo López, will spend the next 45 days in Ramo Verde jail (Los Teques, the capital city of Miranda state, central Venezuela) while the Public Prosecutor Ministry conducts the investigations into the alleged scheming of the violent events occurred after the opposition demonstration of last February 12 downtown Caracas.

The 16th Caracas Control Judge, Ralenis Tovar Guillén, made the decision at the dawn break of Thursday after a peculiar pre-trial hearing that began around 10:00 p.m. in the military jail. For that purpose, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) sent a mobile court (a bus equipped to act as court) in order to held the hearing intended "to protect the defendant's life and integrity," the judge said. The hearing started almost 11 hours after the scheduled time and ended shortly after midnight.

The ex Chacao mayor was accused by public prosecutors of the crimes of arson and damages, solicitation to crime and scheming. The latter is the most serious one and it is designated in the Organic Law against Organized Crime and Funding of Terrorism, punished by imprisonment for 10 years.